Monday, July 4, 2011

Protagonist (Chapter 4, Part 2/ Pages 63-71)

"With eyes for the most part downcast and, if ever they lighted on a fellow creature, at once and furtively averted, Bernard hastened across the roof. He was like a man pursued, but pursued by enemies he does not wish to see, lest they should seem more hostile even than he had supposed, and he himself be made to feel guiltier and even more helplessly alone."

~ Brave New World, page 63

It looks like we've finally found our hero - a "strange" fellow named Bernard Marx. Bernard is the protagonist simply because he is different. Despite being born of the highest class, Bernard is physically imperfect, unlike his Alpha peers, and therefore is outcasted. However, he possesses several amiable qualities that the others have been taught to lack. In some ways, he resembles a human from today's world and not his own. He has a great gamut of emotion, especially including "bad" (but ardent) feelings like jealousy, insecurity, apprehension, and sensitivity; yet, behind these feelings are good intentions. Different from every other character in the novel, Bernard understands the flaws in the society's system, perhaps because he is an outsider. His instincts guide him towards monogamy, and he recognizes stronger, more intense emotions than the other citizens (especially regarding Lenina, the object of his affections). Bernard is definitely an underdog, but he could have the answer to fixing this new world.

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